[New Song Of The Week] San Fermin - Emily

One of the highlights of this year’s South By Southwest has to be San Fermin from the New York area. Reviews of their nine(!) shows (which not even included all sessions) praised their successful attempt to ‘fuse classical music with pop’ and we couldn’t agree more on that statement after hearing Emily. We dare to say that it’s probably their best track yet, maybe even better than hit single Sonsickfrom the first full-length, self-titled album.

Next month its successor will be out under the name Jackrabbit and Emily is the third track to be released in advance. In the mean time there have been some changes in the line-up of the band. Unfortunately the original singer who sung Sonsick left, which affected the live reputation of the band. When seeing them in May last year at the London Calling festival we weren’t impressed to be honest, but with all this new material we really want to give the baroque-pop of Ellis Ludwig-Leone a second chance.

References can easily be made to The National, Efterklang and the chamber-pop of Dark Dark Dark. So if you like any of these groups, chances are that you’ll feel right at home with San Fermin. With lyrics like Emily let the night take me, down down down the rabbit hole we can’t help to see this third single as a subtle invitation to play the Dutch Down The Rabbit Hole festival. Enjoy!

“It’s an age-old scene in a film: two perfectly manicured hands clasp each other spontaneously, and their owners sprint out of a gilded ballroom, a mass of skirts and untucked shirts, into a rainy street. “Anywhere but here, let’s get the hell out of this mad facsimile of real life and go and live for real.” Even though it’s not a surprise that those stories never work out, something about the second song to be released from Dark Dark Dark's new album, Who Needs Who (out October 2 via Supply and Demand), makes it feel like Nona Marie Invie is proposing the idea to you for the very first time, ever. Although “the fluorescent lights can’t change a thing,” the graceful piano and softly splashing drums make it feel like a possibility.” - Laura Snapes, Pitchfork

We went from listening to Hurray For the Riff Raff to Dark Dark Dark in the basement today & the response was “Wow thanks for changing up the music Fiona, we went all the way from listening to sad country to sad ghosts”

(I hate myself a little for how many times I’ve played this song today)